"Once there was a... MUM!" Alison DiLaurentis says annoyed.
"Sorry Ali, but it's time to turn the lights off," Mrs DiLaurentis says and then adds after she sees the girls faces "there's a lot to do tomorrow. Come on girls, good night." Mrs DiLaurentis zips up the tent and covers it with the warmer.
"Why couldn't you have brought a heater Ali? Then we could have been warm," Aria Montgomery says with a shiver.
"Or taken us to California," Emily Fields adds with a smile. All the girls laugh.
"Do you really think the panther story is true," Hanna Marin asks being serious again.
"Don't be silly Hanna, panthers don't live around here," Spencer Hastings says with a roll of her eyes. Spencer was always the smart one and loved to correct the others.
"The only thing that's going to get you Hanna, is that toothbrush in your bag," Ali says with slight smirk. Hanna goes bright red and looks down. The other girls glance at each other. Ali has been doing this a lot lately. It's like she's hanging things over their heads waiting for one of them to snap...
SNAP!
That loud noise made Spencer jump out of her daydream. Mr McAdam was standing right in front of her and he didn't look happy. The classical music was playing which signified that the period was over. Spencer grabbed all her books and waltzed out of AP Economics. On her way out she bumped in to her boyfriend, Toby Cavanaugh.
"Woah, are you alright," he asks as he looks at Spencer's puffy eyes.
"I had the weirdest dream, well it wasn't a dream it was... when Ali was alive and... and," Spencer stops mid-sentence. Across the hall she sees Aria stumbling out of AP English. She looked similar to Spencer, puffy eyed and like she had just been sleeping. She locked eyes with Spencer and ran towards her. At the same time they say:
"Did you just fall asleep in class?" Aria asked with more questioning in her voice. Spencer wasn't the person to fall asleep. She always paid attention and never, did she ever, fall asleep in class. Hanna Marin just walked out of the bathroom with her best friend Mona Vanderwaal. She had just touched up her makeup so Aria assumed that she had fallen asleep too. Mona walked to her locker and Hanna walked over to the other girls and Toby.
"Can some one please tell me what is going on?" Toby says looking at the girls faces.
"Where's Emily?" Hanna ignores Toby and continues, "Did this whole falling asleep thing happen to her?"
"I sure hope so," Aria says "Ali isn't here but I still feel like I see her everyday,"
"Guys?" The girls turn around to see Emily with wet hair. She looks like she was just in the pool. "Did you... did you just..." Emily looks like she can't get the words out.
"See Ali in our weird daydreams?" Spencer asks "yeah, we sure did,"
Emily looks unsure. "Did she say anything in yours..." She almost sounds like Ali said more in hers, like she was actually talking to her.
"Yeah, it was a crazy flashback to when we were in the Poconos," Hanna says, back to her to typical self.
"Look, we need to talk more about this," Spencer says "Let's all come to mine after school,". She looks at Toby. "Sorry, but I think it should be just us four," she says with a sad smile. Toby gives her a look that says 'alright but you need to tell me after'. Spencer nods sadly and walks off to the change rooms to prepare for field hockey.
"Ah, Spencer," Melissa Hastings says when Spencer walked through the back door. "Some of your friends are up in your room,"
"Thanks," Spencer says without looking at her. She had always had a grudge against her, maybe that was the reason she pushed her down the stairs. Spencer smiled at that and then started up the Hastings' stairs. When she walked into her room Hanna and Emily were sitting on her bed. Emily was looking out the window into Ali's old room and Maya's old room. She looks sad but when she sees Spencer she brightens up.
"We have some ideas," she says happily. On the inside Emily was not smiling. She could have sworn that she saw Ali's buttery blond hair in that window, but then she remembered that she was dead. Spencer's voice snapped her back into reality
"Well, what's your ideas?" she says, waving her hand in front of Emily's face. Hanna suddenly jumps off her position on Spencer's bed.
"Is that Ali's mom?" Hanna says sounding a little scared. Emily and Spencer look out Spencer's window and sure enough, Mrs DiLaurentis was standing right there staring straight at them.
"Maybe she had a daydream too," suggested Hanna. Spencer looked at her like she was crazy.
"Come on Hanna, let's be real," Spencer says.
"Where's Aria?" Emily asks trying to change the subject.
"She probably got caught talking to Melissa, she's always looking for people to brag to," Spencer says with a roll of her eyes. Emily looks at Spencer weirdly. "What? We're sisters, that's what sisters do, fight," Someone crashing up the stairs stopped their conversation. Aria burst through Spencer's bedroom door.
"Ali's mom stopped me and stared asking questions. Spencer, I think she thinks you killed Ali," Aria says and then takes a huge breath. Emily takes one step away from Spencer and looks down.
"Why would she think that?" Hanna asks. Spencer looks down.
"I don't know, but I think we need to find something that proves where Ali was when she wasn't with us," Spencer says after a few minutes of silence.
"How?" Hanna asks "What are we going to do? What just walk into Ali's house and say 'Hi Mrs D, can we have all the photos from our trip in grade six?' How do you think she's going to react to that?"
"I don't know, maybe Caleb could help us," Spencer suggested.
"Don't pull him into this," Hanna says suddenly defensive, "If he helps so does Toby."
"Fine, but let's not plan it too far. Come back here on Thursday after school and bring Caleb," Spencer ordered. She loved to be in charge of the girls.
"What about Paige and Ezra? Do they come too?" Emily asks. She looks like she doesn't want Paige to come at all.
"If you want too" Spencer says and then adds quickly seeing the look on Emily's face. "And if she wants to,"
"Alright, I've got to study, see you all at school tomorrow," Aria says with a smile.
"Yeah, um... bye guys," Emily whispers with another glance at Ali's bedroom.
When they all left, Spencer could have sworn she saw blond hair in Ali's bedroom.
After another two days in school, Spencer, Toby, Hanna, Caleb, Aria, Ezra, Paige and Emily returned to Spencer's bedroom.
"Alright, now that I'm here, can someone please explain what is going on?" Ezra asks impatiently. Spencer looks a Toby. He has his eyes fixated on Ali's bedroom.
"Spencer... is that Ali's mom?" He says. Sure enough, Spencer and the others turn to see Mrs D standing right by the window, watching them once again.
"Now that, is creepy," Caleb says watching Mrs D leave Ali's bedroom.
"Ok, so... Emily can you tell us your ideas now," Spencer suggested. Emily looks down and then at Paige.
"Well... it might not work, but Mrs D goes out for fundraising every Thursday..." Emily stutters.
"How do you know that?" Caleb asks. Hanna gives him a sharp elbow and he apologises quickly.
"Well... um... anyway, the key to the back door is under the footmat and we could go and find them..." Emily is bright red now and is looking at her feet. Hanna shifts her weight and Caleb glances out the window again.
"What is she doing?" Caleb gestures toward the window. Mrs D was putting a life size doll in Ali's bed.
"Maybe it's a sensor for if people come in her room," Toby says quite sternly to Spencer. "Obviously the photos are in her room, because who puts a doll in their dead daughters bed?"
"Well... first we'll have to check the attic, then the basement and then Ali's room, but we need to disable the doll," Spencer says and then looks a Caleb. "That's going to be you job,"
"How am I supposed to do that?" He asks. Hanna gives him a glance and then looks at the doll.
"You'll be able to do it," she says while still looking at the doll in Ali's bed. Spencer looks in Ali's room too.
"Ali?" Spencer says aloud. She is looking at the doll in Ali's bed, but it isn't the doll, it's actually Ali. She's sitting up in bed smiling at them. She runs to the window and then blinks. Ali is lying down in her bed, but it isn't Ali, it's the doll. 'Ugh, I swear if I see Ali again I'm am going to..." Spencer stops. She was about to say that she was going to kill her, but then she remembered that she was dead.
When it started to get dark, Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily gathered back out the front of the DiLaurentis' house. Half an hour ago, Mrs D had left the house to go to fundraise at The Holy Trinity, Rosewood's largest church. Only Emily had protested saying that this was not the right thing to do, but after a short discussion she decided that it was the right thing.
"Alright, let's go find some answers," Spencer said with more enthusiasm than intended. The four girls walked over to their old best friends house. Hanna's old walkie talkie started to make noise before Caleb's voice came through the receiver.
"The doll is proving difficult, tell Spencer that she needs to lower her standards on me," Toby's laugh came through the walkie talkie loud and clear. Spencer snatched it from Hanna.
"I heard that, Toby," she says.
They walk around the house to Ali's wraparound decking. Emily pulls the key from under the mat and unlocks the door.
"Ok, let's split up. Emily and Hanna you guys head to the basement so Aria and I will go to the attic. We'll meet back in Ali's bedroom," Spencer says, feeling in charge. The girls mutter in good luck and wander off to their places.
"I've never noticed how creepy Ali's house is without the lights on," Aria says to Spencer as they climb the stairs. Spencer pulls down the ladder that leads to the attic and coughs as she inhales all the dust.
"Wow, it looks like no-ones been up here for ages," Aria says, pointing out the obvious, yet again. They climb the ladder in to the attic and start to search for anything about Ali. Spencer pulls out a box that is marked 2010.
"Hey Aria," Spencer calls.
"Yeah," Aria replies, reappearing from behind a stack of Jason's old school books.
"What year did we go to the Poconos?"
"Uh..." Aria screws up her face with concentration. "I think it was..." She looks at the box in Spencer's arms. "Yeah, that's right, 2010,"
Emily and Hanna appear at the top of the ladder. Hanna has a look of disgust on her face. The walkie talkie makes some more noise before she can speak. All the girls pray silently, hoping that Caleb has disabled the doll.
"Oi, Spencer, Aria, did you hear what... what," Caleb was having trouble with his words. Hanna looks away in disgust. "Toby scared both of them through the walkie talkie," Both Caleb and Toby are laughing on the other side of the walkie talkie. Hanna quickly presses the talk button.
"Shut up you two, it looks like Spencer's found something," she says sounding a little annoyed. They didn't reply, so Spencer guessed that they were still laughing. She eased the lid off the top of the box and found just what she was looking for.
"Guys, look," She hands each of the girls a wad of photos for them to look through. After a silent few minutes, Spencer lets out a shriek of excitement. Emily jumped about ten metres off her seat.
"Don't do that Spencer," she says "it's scary enough being in here, let alone you screaming,"
"I've found it, I've actually found it," Spencer says almost wanting to dance like she was in a Broadway ballet show. The other girls crowd around her and look at the picture. It was of Ali and a girl about their age that Spencer had never seen before.
"Flip it over," Hanna says with a small amount of excitement in her voice. Spencer flipped the photo over to find a name and a phone number written on the back.
"Madi Cox," Hanna says aloud. "I have to say that I have never heard that before," Caleb's voice comes over the walkie talkie. He sounds like he got over his laughing fit.
"Done," he says and then adds, "it's disabled, but not for long," Aria snatches it off Hanna.
"Don't worry, Spencer's found what we need," she says. Spencer can't help but blush. She starts to put away the box and walks back to the ladder and all the girls follow. Luckily enough, Mrs D wasn't back from her fundraising just yet. Emily locks the door and puts the key under the mat. The girls walk through Spencer's back door and fall on to the chaise lounges in exhaustion.
"Have you found anything out about this Madi girl?" Aria asks at the girls lunch table. Spencer puts down her beetroot sandwich and wipes her face before she answers.
"I searched Google until I fell asleep last night, there was nothing," she said with a sigh. Caleb slips in to the seat next to Hanna and Toby comes to sit next to Spencer.
"So, Hanna tells me I didn't have to disable the doll, could you have told me that before I even started?" Hanna gives him a elbow and he laughs.
"Well," Spencer says as she pulls out her brand new iPhone and MacBook. She pulls the photo out of her pocket. "I guess some one could call her..." Spencer suggested.
Emily reaches for the photo, but as soon as her fingers clasped around it, the loudspeaker came on overhead.
"Could Spencer Hastings, Emily Fields, Aria Montgomery and Hanna Marin please come to the principal's office immediately," Principal Appleton says. Caleb looks at Hanna and laughs.
"It's not funny, Caleb," Hanna says sounding a little worried. The girls walk to the office with practically everyone in the school watching them. Spencer opens the door to see Mrs D sitting in front of Principal Appleton.
"Ah, girls. I believe that Mrs DiLaurentis would like a word with you," he says. Spencer nods as he walks out of the room. Mrs D was always good at keeping her anger in, but today she looked as though she could kill everyone in Rosewood.
"Well, hello girls," she says. Spencer was waiting for the worst and by the looks on the others faces they were too, but suddenly Mrs D smiled. "I was wondering if your mothers had my baking trays that they borrowed when Ali was alive, I need them for a fundraiser tomorrow," Spencer practically fainted with relief.
"Ah... sure I'll ask my mum when I get home," Emily nods. All the other girls mutter a approval and file out of the room.
"Oh my God," Aria stutters "I swear she was going to ask what we were doing in her house last night, but... wow,"
"Not so loud," Hanna pushes, "she's, like, right behind us," All the girls look behind them and there was Mrs D, waiting. She looks as though she is waiting for them to turn around and give back the photo.
"Well, some one needs to call this Madi girl," Aria says.
"I will," Emily pipes up. Spencer hands her the phone number and she dials the number. Spencer quickly puts it on speaker just as she answers.
"Hello?" Madi says.
"Hi there Madi, this is Emily Fields. You might have heard my name from my friend Alison DiLaurentis?" Spencer gives her a look, Hanna looks dumbstruck, while Aria just stares at the phone.
"Alison DiLaurentis? Wow that was a while ago," Madi laughs nervously.
"Look," Spencer buts in, "We need to meet up. Alison is dead, you do know that, right."
"Dead? Oh my God. What happened?" She sounds like she is out of breath.
"No-one knows yet," Aria says impatiently. Spencer starts to get annoyed.
"What school do you go to?" Hanna asks eventually.
"Uh, oh, right. Um, Twin Valley High School. What about you?" She asks. Hanna's face falls.
"Rosewood Day," Emily says, with a slight glance at Hanna.
"We all need to meet up, ok?" Spencer says. "What about Pennsylvania tomorrow at one?"
"Ah, sure sounds good. Wait, we?" Madi asks, surprised. Spencer quickly presses the end button. Emily is slightly shaking and Aria is looking across the hall at her brother, Mike and Hanna is watching Caleb come towards them. Suddenly all of the girls phones beep at once. Hanna looks at the others with a worried look on her face.
AAAAAA: Madison Cox is hiding more than you liars are. You better watch your back.
-A
Spencer, Hanna, Emily and Aria sat down at a Pennsylvania caffe at lunch time. Hanna had already downed five donuts in stress.
"What if she doesn't show up," she says eating her sixth donut. Aria snatches the donut out of her hands.
"Stop, Hanna, seriously," she says, taking a bite of it. Hanna sighs. Hanna looks up and then practically throws her hood over her head. Her stepsister, Kate just walked around the corner.
"Are you Emily Fields?" One of blond girls with Kate asked. Emily nods. "You could have told me you were bringing a Hastings," Spencer looks up.
"What?" Spencer says. "How did you know... what?"
"She stole my boyfriend, both of them did," she says. Hanna looks up.
"What?" she says. "How?" Kate notices Hanna and has a huge smirk on her face.
"If it isn't my fathers least favourite daughter," Kate says still smirking.
"Look I wasn't here to see you, ok?" Hanna says. "Anyway, Madi, can you explain how Melissa and Ali stole your boyfriend," But before Madi can answer Spencer buts in.
"Do you mean Ian Thomas was your boyfriend?" Spencer asks. Spencer is worried, really worried. She and Ali had, had a competition for who could kiss the most hot boys. Spencer had won because she had kissed Ian when he was dating her sister, Melissa. But a few weeks ago Spencer and the girls found out that Ali was actually dating Ian as well.
"Yeah, he was until I caught him with her," she says looking at Kate, who was still glaring at Hanna, who was glaring back. "Ali's lucky she's dead, other wise I would have killed her myself," Hanna is snapped out of her staring contest with Kate.
"What?" she says, surprised. Madi gives the girls a shrug and walks away. Kate turns to Hanna.
"See you soon, second favourite," she says. Hanna glares at her back and turns back to the girls.
"Oh my god, I swear if I see her again I'm going to kill her," she says. All the girls phones beep at the same time and Hanna looks around the street.
AAAAAA: If only she did kill her then you wouldn't have to worry about me.
Kisses -A
After telling Toby all that happened at lunch that day, Spencer was so ready for bed. She curled up to see a new email on her laptop. She opened it up, kind of expecting a new -A message, but luckily enough it was only from Mr McAdam regarding her Economics class. She breathes a sigh of relief and looked out of her window into Ali's room. Mrs D was standing there again looking straight at her. Spencer quickly looks away, turns the light out and lies down.
After a quick lecture about skipping class from her mum, Emily found herself in bed rereading the text from -A. She was so confused why Mrs D was at the school asking about baking trays the other day. Why didn't she ask the girls about why they were all in Spencer's room that night? Emily's brain hurts to much to even think about it so she decided that she needed to sleep. Her phone beeped right as she hit the pillow. She looked at the screen to see that it was only from Paige. She fell back onto the pillow again and closed her eyes.
Hanna walked into her house to see that her mum wasn't home yet. She picked a salad out of the fridge and walked up to her room. Her dog, Dot was jumping at her heels and she bent down to pick him up. When she finished her salad she turned off her television and got into bed. Caleb started to call her when she shut her eyes, but she just ignored it. She started to fall in to a deep sleep.
When Aria walked through the front door she saw that Mike was watching TV with her mum. Ella had never really liked Aria after she didn't tell her that her father had an affair with another woman. Aria walked upstairs into her room and pulled out her phone. She had three missed calls from her dad and two from Ezra. She figured that she would call them tomorrow. As she got into her pyjamas and got into bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow she fell asleep.
Ali's face suddenly appeared. She was talking, but her voice was blurring. As soon as her voice was clear she said something, something confusing. Her voice sounded wrong, irregular, not a thing like Ali's voice. She suddenly looks angry. Her voice rises in anger.
"You'll never find what you want," she says. After she says this her face and body melts into another shape. The person has a black mask, hoodie and clothes on. When they speak they sound broken and shattered.
"You have to look in the grave," it says. They reach out as if to strangle you. At the same time, Spencer, Aria, Hanna and Emily woke up in their beds out of breath.